Betrayal: Bipartisan group of senators is on the verge of a deal that would expand background checks to all private firearms sales

A bipartisan group of senators is on the verge of a deal
that would expand background checks to all private firearms sales with
limited exemptions, but significant disagreements remain on the issue of
keeping records of private gun sales, according to aides familiar with
the talks.An agreement would be a bold first step toward consideration
of legislation to limit gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting at
a Connecticut elementary school in December and comes as the Senate
Judiciary Committee is expected this week to begin considering new
proposals to limit gun violence.

The talks, led by two Democrats and two Republicans, are expected to
earn more GOP support in the coming days and likely enough to move the
bill through the Senate, according to senior aides of both parties who
were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.“These negotiations
are challenging, as you’d expect on an issue as complicated as guns,”
the chief negotiator, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), said in a
statement Saturday. “But all of the senators involved are approaching
this in good faith. We are all serious about wanting to get something
done, and we are going to keep trying.”Resolution of whether to keep
records of private sales is key to earning the support of one of the
Republicans involved in the talks, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, who has a
solid A-rating from the influential National Rifle Association and could provide political cover for lawmakers of both parties who are wary of supporting the plan.